Classroom Strategies to Amplify Student Learning

The purpose of this course is to synthesize, in a user-friendly way, what is currently known about quality assessment: To explain it clearly, provide examples, and offer opportunities for practice. In it you will find a range of assessment strategies from selected choice to peer review of performances. The method is not most important; what matters is the purpose, placement, and process. This means starting with assessment in mind. As soon as the student learning targets and outcomes are identified, consider how they will be assessed. Make use of the data generated by pre-assessments and routine check-ins. If you are teaching about Shakespeare decide whether a selected choice test is your best option or would it be more meaningful to select a contemporary issue and have students write/perform a play about it in iambic pentameter. In science, do you want students to explain climate change or advocate for a response (or not responding) to climate change. Then, in reverse, purposefully plan learning and embed assessments based on intended learning targets.